Li Xiuxuan never dreamed that Han Shizhong would arrive so quickly and without anyone noticing.
And once they arrived, they were like wolves.
It really makes the sheep, or rather, the wretched pigs, tremble.
What's even more terrifying is that he doesn't know how many people Han Shizhong brought with him.
Upon hearing that Han Shizhong had arrived, a number of men immediately went limp with fear.
Some people didn't even pull their pants up properly before they took off running.
Damn, the river wind is blowing so intensely in the dead of winter!
Under the cover of night, every soldier in the Guangde Army felt an intense and unstoppable attack!
In fact, before Han Shizhong arrived, they were drinking and eating heartily, and wantonly ravaging women.
They dared to be so relaxed for two reasons: first, this was their daily routine; and second, Li Xiuxuan had mistakenly judged that Han Shizhong would not land for at least three days.
"Li Xiang...Li Xiang..."
In the darkness, amidst the chaotic crowd, someone was shouting Li Xiuxuan's name.
Someone saw a heroic figure, completely naked, embracing another graceful, also completely naked woman, running through the chaotic battlefield.
That's right! He's running!
What is that?
"It's obviously two people!"
"Why is that guy running around naked with a woman in his arms, while we're running away too? Why don't we have any women?"
"Hey! That looks like Prime Minister Li! It's Prime Minister Li! No doubt about it!"
"It's Prime Minister Li! He's running around naked, hugging a woman!"
"Could it be..."
"Stuck again?"
"..."
Amidst the chaos, Han Shizhong's army quickly caught up.
The emperor's new army once again crushed all those who dared to resist, sweeping and crushing the Guangde army. They had no chance to fight back and could only scramble and flee in a frantic manner.
A few dozen new soldiers could chase down and fight several thousand Guangde soldiers.
This is also a war without any difficulty.
The imperial guards and officials in the south are still unaware that if they hadn't followed Shen Tu Xin in his escapades, the emperor wouldn't have immediately wiped them out. At the very least, the emperor would have had to send the Censorate to investigate their past.
This will be a massive undertaking, involving the interests of countless individuals.
With such a complex mix of information, identifying the bad apples is extremely difficult.
Even someone as dim-witted as Zhao Huan held a pessimistic view of this matter.
But things are different now. The interests of the Southern Imperial Guards have been impacted. The Imperial Guards have colluded with civil officials, and Shen Tu Xin has taken the lead in bringing in officials, wealthy merchants, and landlords who could be involved.
This was undoubtedly telling Zhao Huan: Zhao Huan, you little brat, we are your black sheep, come and kill us, come on, you can whip us!
In Zhao Huan's own words: "Very good. You dragged Prince Kang into setting up a small court, and all the officials involved are guilty. This really saves me the trouble of investigating them one by one. I've been waiting for you to play like this."
If they hadn't acted so recklessly, Han Shizhong's army would have had no choice but to obediently set up camp in Hangzhou under the pretext of suppressing pirates, waiting for the Censorate to investigate them one by one and arrest them afterward.
In a sense, Shen Tu Xin's confidence helped Zhao Huan to accelerate the pacification of the south.
Prince Kang was brought out by Han Shizhong. Han Shizhong had no authority to decide how to deal with Prince Kang. He wrote a memorial and sent it to the Privy Council and the Emperor.
This matter involved internal royal family issues, and the Privy Council collectively chose to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye.
The emperor quickly issued his decision regarding Prince Kang: Prince Kang had been framed by treacherous officials, and Han Shizhong was ordered to escort him back to Hangzhou. Han Shizhong swiftly proceeded to Hangzhou to quell the remaining rebel forces.
This approach surprised all the ministers.
Given the emperor's temperament, even if Prince Kang was forced this time, he would never let it go easily; at the very least, the emperor would have someone capture Prince Kang and bring him back to the capital.
But the emperor chose to act as if nothing had happened.
No matter how many people with ulterior motives had prepared elaborate impeachment arguments, they all swallowed their words now that the Prince of Kang had arrived in the capital, intending to put him to death.
At the same time, these people were even more confused about what the emperor was thinking. This was a great opportunity, how could they just let it go? Even if they didn't kill Prince Kang, they had to teach this prince a lesson and make him think he should behave himself.
Regardless of what kind of trouble these people in the capital intend to cause, the court's attention is now focused on the southeast.
Jiangxi South Road and Jiangnan East Road have been run over.
This time, more than 5,000 civil officials and people with official titles were implicated, from top to bottom.
They were escorted to Tokyo in batches, and the Inspectorate staff opened a case overnight. Some people didn't sleep for days and nights.
A batch is sent in, and a batch dies.
Almost all of them were executed on charges of treason, and Zhao Huan spared no one.
All the officials in Tokyo chose to remain silent about this matter.
Civil officials were beheaded by the emperor, while military officers and soldiers lost their lives in the war. The Privy Council estimated that Yue Fei and Han Shizhong had defeated nearly 400,000 troops so far.
The soldiers killed by the new army were mainly former imperial guards, numbering as many as 15,000. Of these, 10,000 were killed by Han Shizhong and more than 5,000 by Yue Fei.
The larger army consisted of refugees temporarily recruited by the Imperial Guard and conscripted men forcibly brought in.
These refugees and able-bodied men scattered in all directions after the city fell.
Some went up the mountain to become bandits, some went directly to the village to rob and plunder, and some obediently went home.
Han Shizhong almost wiped out the original troops of the Guangde Army. After the massacre, Han Shizhong submitted a memorial to the Privy Council and the emperor, implying that all the rebels who participated in the rebellion must be killed without leaving a single survivor.
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